Etymologically
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blunt

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 17 October 2026 at 14:26. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • IPA: /blʌnt/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English blunt, of uncertain origin.[2][3][4][5] It may be Scandinavian, related to Old Norse blunda (“to shut the eyes, doze”) (see blind),[2][5][6] or to Old English blinnan (“to stop, cease”).[3] Barnhart doubts a link with blunder, since that sense is not found until 1440.[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Dull, obtuse, of persons: probably about 1200, in The Ormulum.[2][3][7]

Semantic evolution

Of tools or weapons, not sharp, it is from 1398, and the surname Blundspure, Bluntspur, is from about 1285.[7][2] Rude or unrefined is from 1477, and abrupt of speech or manner from 1590.[7][3] The verb, to dull the edge, is from the late 14th century.[3][5] As a noun, a blunt sword is from the 1610s and a short thick needle from 1833;[3] as street slang a blunt is a cigar refilled with marijuana, by about 1993, from the Phillies Blunt brand.[3][8] In East Anglia, Wiltshire and Somerset dialect a blunt was a storm of snow or rain.[9]

Timeline

  • c. 1200 – dull, obtuse.[2][7]
  • c. 1285 – Bluntspur (surname).[2]
  • 1398 – not sharp.[7]
  • 1590 – abrupt in speech.[7]
  • 1610s – a blunt sword (noun).[3]
  • c. 1993 – a blunt (slang).[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Having a dull edge or point; not sharp: a blunt instrument.
  2. Frank and direct, often disconcertingly; outspoken.
  3. Slow to understand; dull.
  4. Lacking feeling; insensitive.

Verb

  1. To make or become less sharp.
  2. To make less effective; to weaken.

Noun

  1. (slang) A cigar hollowed out and filled with cannabis.

Word family

  • bluntly
  • bluntness

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  7. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  9. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)